Fragile
by SaintPellegrino
Summary: I don't deserve this. I did everything that was right, everything he asked me to do, everything that was for the greater good. And my amazing reward are these chains in this putrid cell. But I don't need anybody else. I only need myself.


I dearly wish all of them are so completely and blissfully happy.

I hope my dear brother has turned our country around.

I hope the Avatar has found peace for the world.

I hope the rest of them are doing decent, too. It's not like I actually paid attention to them.

Actually, I hope their lives are so filled with pain, anger, and sadness, that they're destroying themselves and everything around them.

They deserve it. No wait, they've _earned _it.

They deserve it for letting me rot in here. This cold, placid room has been my home for the past... three months? Or has it been three years? Or even longer? How have they all changed? How has the world changed, while I'm chained up and locked away?

The Earthbender, Toph, didn't change. She might have visited her parents once or twice after their "victory." But I doubt it. She's probably running amuck in the Earth Kingdom, attempting to rebuild cities and stuff. Oh wait, she's blind! Can't do that! Maybe she's gotten so disabled, she has to use an old women's cane! That'd be a sight… a midget, using a cane as tall as her. She was a queer one, that Toph. She'll never find love; no man will ever look past her disgusting face or manner. And no man will respect some stupid girl Earthbender. Besides the Avatar, I guess. The blind girl probably had a soft spot for him. Hopefully she's still unhappy and apathetic about everything. I'd like to think that she is.

I remember when Suki tried to kill me. It was fun to play with her. Lead her on, let her think that she has a chance – then squash her hopes like a little insect. I wish I could fight them all again, just one last time. My Firebending has been stagnant since my imprisonment, since I can't really move. But she was a good fighter, for someone that doesn't bend. She made me work, surprisingly. Maybe she's doing well back at Kyoshi. That island was alright, even though it was in the Earth Kingdom. The flora and separation from the main world had my attention for a few minutes. Then I remembered that I had to destroy everything they knew and hoped for before their eyes.

The lone warrior in their group, Sokka… he was a fickle boy. He actually thought their infiltration of the Fire Nation would actually work. Sure, it was successful. Too bad they left me alive to teach their sorry asses a lesson. Plus he was from some Water Tribe. I didn't really pay attention to that aspect. He was very... studious? Adamant? Eccentric? He and Katara must've had an alright relationship.

If Zuko and I weren't so different, so ambitious, so perfect, would we be as close as they are?

What about one of the last Waterbenders, Katara ? The Avatar supposedly did _everything _for her. At least that's what Lo and Li said about her. She's not very pretty, either. Her eyes are too wide-set, her nose is too pointy, and her hair is just atrocious! She was with Zuko when he "beat" me, right? Possibly? Well, she's just an interfering, dirty peasant. She shouldn't even be allowed to be near my brother. We're royalty, not commoners!

Whatever. It's not even worth worrying about. Little Zuzu probably misses me so much; he's planning my release right now. He can't survive without my beauty, my wit, my advice… the list runs on.

Nah, who am I kidding?

The best day of that brat's life was when he and his Waterbending whore defeated me. Not that they did, anyway. They cheated. I don't know how, but there's no chance that the weaknesses in both of them could overpower me, the Fire Lord! They're so weak, so naïve, and yet I'm the one removed and cut off from the world. I wonder how long _they _would last in this dingy cell. I know I'm doing quite fine, thank you very much. I don't need friends, and I don't need family. I just need myself. People are overrated. I hate everyone. Everyone abandoned me to fend for myself, and the Spirits better know that. People deserve to die for what others did for me, even Mother.

…What if Zuzu found Mother?

What is she like? Is she still beautiful? Has she gotten a few wrinkles, here and there? Does she still rock Zuko her in arms, like they always did when we were kids?

Like she never did for me?

It's not like I miss her or anything. She betrayed Father and the Fire Nation, and she was rewarded with exile. Serves her right. I hope she's dead. I hated her. She believed that I was a sociopath! Not that I am. I'm completely sane, just like any other normal person in the world.

Did she ever love me? Just for a moment?

"_No. She didn't. Don't think such childish thoughts, Azula._" A plain imitation of my Father's voice echoes in my skull, bouncing off every surface possible. I hang my head, deflated at his curt disregard of me.

**xxx**

"Dinner and water, Madame." I jerk out of my thoughts to see the door open into my cell. A thicker shadow quickly blots out the light, and the door soon slams shut. The person soon comes into view: just a male prison guard. He's about 5'6, maybe taller, with a low-ranking uniform on. How lame. I thought I deserved some more precautions then a low-life like this. The guard's face is now in sight. He's about middle-aged, with no distinctive features. Dark hair, but I can't see his eyes. My stomach growls, and distracted me from him to my food. It's simply gruel again, but the guard has a bucket of water! Yes! The guard impassively raises a spoon of the gelatinous slop to my mouth, and I greedily drink it in. I hear the guard chuckle softly, and I slowly raise my head to glare at him. He's broadly grinning at me. "Drink up." He says. "You never know when you'll get something this delicious again." He raises an eyebrow suggestively and puts the spoon to my lips.

This routine goes for a few more minutes, until the small bowl is completely empty. "Water, Princess?" I nod and the guard dips the same spoon into a metal bucket. I slurp up all the water he can give me at a time.

"How does it feel right now?" I look up again, and the damn guard is smiling again! What is his problem?

"I'm disappointed to see that you forgot who I am. Since I still am the Crown Princess, you fool." I retort back, still glaring at him.

"Princess…" He scoffs at me. "You're no Fire Nation Princess. You're a mere shadow of yourself, reaching for the remnants of what you were, while everything you once knew is growing and leaving you behind in a pathetic heap of ashes. You're the forgotten, mad, Princess, locked away on a remote island where nobody will remember your existence. Nobody cares about you anymore, not even your own family."

I furrow my brow and raise my voice. "How… dare you! You know nothing of me! You know nothing of what I did for my country and my family, and how I changed the world for the greater good! I'm a legend over the world, and Zuko will release me! You just wait, you bastard!" I'm leaning forward to get a piece of this ignorant piece of dirt, but the chains encasing my hands and feet yank me back. My left shoulder cracks, and it starts to burn more than I can fully explain. I bite my tongue to balance the pain, and soon my mouth tastes like blood.

The guard raises his eyebrow. "So… since people still care about you…" He sarcastically taps his chin. "How many letters have you gotten from your family?"

He puts his knee a few centimeters away from my groin and shoves his face near mine. I almost gag from the stench; it's Two-Headed Fish. Kill me.

"No letters? That's what I believed. And since your friends are still loyal to the Fire Nation Princess… did Lady Mai ever tell you the news?"

I quickly look up. "What news?"

"Oh it's nothing. Not at all important to the Princess, who's _so _damn busy with running the bloody country. It's just that Lady Mai and Fire Lord Zuko will wed within the next ye-"

That throws my composure off balance, but I don't let the guard finish his sentence. I launch a mouthful of blood and salivia on his face. "You lie!"

The guard leaps back and hurriedly wipes his face, letting out a string of curses, mostly aimed at me.

"You bitch!" He grabs the pail of water and flings it at me. Although it completely missed me, I can't escape the cascade of dirty water. The guard throws back my cell door and slams it, leaving me back in darkness.

**xxx**

I start to laugh at the guard's idiocy. Don't people realize that they can't win at a losing game? I smile softly as a look back around my cell. There are two pillars hoisting up my chains, but I squint in the darkness at the one to my right. The pail left a crack in the pillar. Idiot.

Wait… A crack… Yes! This is perfect! Although I've tried many times to Firebend with the clasps and chains on, maybe this last time will do it. This escape attempt just might work out. I think of everything I want, everything I need, and everything I hate, and I fuel it all into my right arm. I clench my hand tightly inside the clasp, and I let all the usable and tormented energy out as fast as I can.

Fire explodes from my fist, and the metal melts away from my body. The pillar takes the brunt of the fire and detonates, and the sound vibrates through the cell. My hand seems to be fine, for the time being. I know the guards have probably heard the explosion, but that's the least of my worries. I shoot small jets of lightening at the last few chains binding me to the ground, and I melt the clasps holding down my legs. I try to stand up, but I fall against a column. I smile and laugh as I raise my hand at the door to charge up lightening.

_Everything I want… It's now possible._

_I'm free._

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything relating to Nickelodeon, Avatar: The Last Airbender, or anything like that.**

**Author's Note:** Hiya guys! I had so much fun while writing this, because I was thinking "what would Azula do" during the whole time! I had a prompt similar to this in school one day, and I thought I could easily turn it into a little story. I think it worked out well! Please rate/review!


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